Ruth Johnson was born in 1895 in a family where only Swedish was spoken. She married Martin S. Engwall in 1922, an immigrant from Sweden who worked his way through his education in the U.S. The Engwalls left for the Belgian Congo to be missionaries in 1923. Martin died in 1956 but Ruth served until 1960. After Martin’s death, Ruth elected to return to the Congo to interpret the nature of a Christian home and family life. From the beginning, the large numbers who attended her many institutes and conferences caught her vision. She developed curriculum, devised visual aids and dramatic presentations, drawing men, women and children into the program. She retired when evacuation became necessary in July 1960, but did return for anthropological research.